Offline and online retail are two sides of the same coin? Read on to know why?

The war between online and offline retailers may be age-old. And this war between them is peaking new levels as time passes. But are they really foes or are they the two sides of the same coin, who will soon become indispensible for each other.

“Offline retailers demanding a total clampdown of online sales is not a new phenomenon. Globally, if you look at the evolution of offline retailers, we realise that their evolution has largely happened due to online retail. What has happened is that all online retailers are moving towards a marketplace model,” said Mohit Bahl, partner and head of retail advisory at KPMG.

He explained that since most of these websites may turn into marketplaces, dependence on offline retailers is bound to go up. “Consider this if you place an order on Flipkart, then it is not Flipkart that is selling you goods but offline retailers that are registered on the website. So, I think offline retailers will continue to have a lot of business but they may have to change their business model,” noted Bahl.

Earlier this month, offline retailers had asked consumer durable majors to clampdown on the online sale of their products. The demand has forced consumer durable majors such as Videocon and LG India to withdraw warranties on their products that are sold online in their bid to boost their offline sale of their products. These companies also announced that consumers will have to pay for the after sale services as well.

“I believe that whatever decisions both online retailers and consumer durable majors take today are not really taken with much consideration. They are not really well-evaluated decision but are rather reactions to whatever is happening around,” Bahl asserted. However, he expects that soon both parties will find the right water level soon.

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